Many of the innovations we enjoy as everyday conveniences were born from mistakes. Your microwave, your Coca-Cola, your antibiotic prescription, and more. Great value and luxury has come to us through the magic of tinkering, accidents, and spotting something that wasn’t quite as expected.

In my academic life, one of my most cited papers came from an unexpected result. A mistake. I used one chemical when I meant to use another. My results showed one peak when I was expecting to read another. It was noticing the supposed error that helped a curiosity evolve into a concerted pursuit of the new. In recent research seminars, I've been telling stories of our research in the frame of what mistakes, what chance events, what happenstance led to something we never designed, but was ultimately a really fruitful path to follow. These mistakes facilitated advances that could, in retrospect, have so easily been dressed up as products of design.

In the Information Age, design is evermore available, and evermore attractive to claim. In 1960, one research paper used "Rational Design" in its title. In 2021, 737 papers did the same.

We wouldn't have Post-it notes if someone didn't fail to design stronger adhesive. We wouldn't have Coca-Cola if a couple of chemicals that were never supposed to mixed hadn't been spilled together. We wouldn't have 'smart dust' if someone hadn't smashed raw silicon material all over her lab. We wouldn't have the modern microwave oven if someone hadn't spotted the chocolate bar that had melted in their pocket whilst walking past an instrument that was emitting microwaves. These stories and more, you can find them. You will find them. They exist. And these stories could be your stories.

In his book The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb advises:

"...the strategy for the discoverers and entrepreneurs is to rely less on top-down planning and focus on maximum tinkering and recognising opportunities when they present themselves."

What mistakes have you made that could lead to unexpected wonders? What could you follow that you might otherwise be tempted to sweep under the carpet?

When might tinkering reveal truths that your premeditated design can only dream of?

Listen to the full podcast episode here or wherever you listen to podcasts. Just search “reid_indeed”.